Let’s Address a Common Misunderstanding About Author Websites

For nearly five years now, I’ve taught classes on how to build and optimize author websites. Every single class, here’s the most common question I receive:

Is it OK if I publish my book on my website?

This question gets expressed in a multitude of ways, such as:

What if I post full chapters of my book on my website (or blog)?

If I serialize my book on my website (or blog), is it considered published?

How can I charge a subscription fee for work I publish at my website?

My first answer is a very direct one: Sure, posting content you own at your website is OK. But why do it?

What do you gain by posting your book, in part or in its entirety, on your website?

How will anyone know it’s there?

Why will anyone want to read it on your website?

What are you trying to accomplish by putting it on your site and not publishing it through the biggest retailer of ebooks (Amazon)?

This question indicates a misunderstanding of what author websites are meant to accomplish—or at least the majority of them.

An author website is primarily a marketing tool, not a publishing and distribution tool.

The No. 1 reason to build an author website is to create a marketing and publicity hub for everything you do. It tells the story of you and your work. It’s a 24/7 business card that never stops working on your behalf. It offers official information about your books, offers a way for readers to stay in touch (such as through an email newsletter or links to social media), and provides a public face to the media and others who might wish to offer media coverage.

Some authors blog on their website, and in that case, yes, there’s a publishing function involved—but the blog is, at its heart, a marketing tool, part of your author platform and long-term business strategy.

There will always be success stories and inspiring case studies of authors who blogged their way to book deals, or who serialized their work on their own site, and somehow amassed a huge following. One such example is The Martian. But these are such outlying cases that they have no bearing on the fact that author websites aren’t ideal as a publishing and distribution platform for book-length work. They’re best at building your author brand and direct marketing to readers.

A much more effective way to build a readership is to publish and distribute your work where the readers are looking for their next best read—whether that’s Amazon, Wattpad, or some other platform for reading and writing where thousands of people gather. It’s quite difficult for fiction writers to turn their own site into a destination site—not impossible, but not within the existing skill set of most authors.

For authors hoping to attract an editor or agent by posting work at their website: The odds are incredibly low that someone will stumble on your work and offer you representation or a book deal. You would have to be attracting attention in a major way elsewhere that drives significant traffic to your site.

A brief note about publication rights: From a rights perspective, I don’t think authors hurt their chances at a publishing deal by posting work on their website. Technically, yes, you are publishing it, but because so few people will likely read it or know it exists, it carries little import that you’ve put it out there. You can simply take it down if and when it becomes a concern or a publisher expresses interest. (However, I know literary/MFA markets are touchy about this, but they exist in a different publishing universe from the rest of us, and have a lot of “rules” that make no business sense.)

What about content theft when posting your work at your website? That would indicate there’s a market for your work. Congratulations! More seriously, though: I’ve professionally blogged since 2008, and published a book that consists of content appearing for free and online-only. I can tell you firsthand that the amount of trouble I have with content theft approaches zero. Motivation for piracy is linked to work with high commercial demand, like Harry Potter.

When writers ask me if it’s OK to publish their work at their website, it’s usually because they’re afraid of piracy, or of losing their rights or hurting their chances with a publisher. But they’re completely missing the larger question of: Who would care or find your work on your site in the first place?

If you have an author website, what has been its most valuable benefit? How do you use it to grow your business?

Jane Friedman has more than 20 years in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. She’s the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors. You can find out more about her consulting services and online classes at her website, JaneFriedman.com.

Comments

Thanks Jane, marvelous post. I’m prepping a short library presentation on “loving your blog” and this is really helping me get thoughts together on what I was calling a “hang your hat” blog, meaning the author website. Excellent, sensible advice about putting your work up there, which I will mention. Linking! Stealing!

Gosh, Jane, this is really helpful. Especially the point that who would care or stumble across your website anyway? Attracting readers/buyers to come to your website is not easy. Your point about authors blogging on their websites is a good one.

The most valuable benefit came to me from a marketing gal who told me to create a blog/website combination page. This way people who follow my weekly fiction blog or come across the blog through content searches can see my books in the sidebar of the blog. And I do get book sales this way. They can click the book cover and be directed to the Amazon sales page. Many writers are using this combination approach now and getting better results than just a web site alone. The key, she told me, was that it’s easier to build blog followers than get people to find your website. And if you offer a story free on your sidebar, you’ve invited them to sample your work.

I have my own domain name and want to start blogging from my website–but I wasn’t sure if I need to link to a WordPress blog? In other words, do I blog on WordPress and connect that blog to my actual website? I’m not sure how anyone would find the blog otherwise. Can anyone explain how the two fit together? Thanks in advance!

WordPress can serve as the platform for both your author website AND your blog. It’s ideal to have them under one umbrella. My website (http://janefriedman.com) is an example–it’s entirely WordPress driven from beginning to end.

It’s common for people to equate WordPress with “blog,” but it’s a content management system that simply includes blogging functionality (which happens to be among its most popular functions).

Thanks very much for the response, Jane. That does make sense. Since I already have the site elsewhere, I suppose that means I would have to migrate the content, if I’m understanding you correctly. I appreciate the help!

You got good advice. Well done blogs get people to return to a site again and again. People may visit a static website, but if the content doesn’t change, there’s no reason to return. And how many websites are so great that they compel visitors to buy something on their first and only visit?

The trick is to develop blog content that attracts the sort of people who will also buy your book(s) and interests them enough to return to your site.

The novel I’m getting ready to publish is women’s historical fiction. But I’m hoping to sway men to read it too, and I’m doing that through my website. There’s a lot of interest in our area in the 1937 flood. I did so much research on it that I’ve been able to publish an extensive timeline of events regarding the flood. I hope that when someone googles the flood, they’ll be led to my site and hopefully be interested enough to try the book. Having the website also gives me the opportunity to post photographs not only of the flood but of landmarks mentioned in the story. And I did a story map to help readers get an idea where everything is happening. Other than garnering reviews, I feel my website is my best marketing tool to get more readers to my book. Here’s hoping!!

I see my website as an extension of me. When I’ve met someone in person or online, my website is a place this person can go to for more information. I treat it as such, making sure it’s updated with details I would tell someone in person if time permitted.

I have a website, but am a total klutz in how to use it. However, one aspect I felt useful in promoting my novels is to allow the visitor to read the first chapter of each published novel, with a link to Amazon. Do you think this is useful? Or am I just blowing empty air?

“If you have an author website, what has been its most valuable benefit? How do you use it to grow your business?”

I have no answer to either of those questions. I have looked at some analytics and either don’t understand what they are trying to tell me, or, if I do understand, there are no suggestions provided for how to improve the stats that are low.

I designed my site myself and run it (poorly I’m afraid) myself. I can’t afford to pay an expert to design and run my site for me. I’m sure if I did they could answer your questions, and mine, about if the site is accomplishing anything. For those of us without a business background, tight budgets and no professional help, it’s all up in the air.

I have a website because we are all told we have to have one, and I do the best I can with it.

Are there others out there in the same situation as I am? Have you been able to get any affordable help?

Let me tell you a little story. Couple weeks ago, hubby had his 4×4 truck sideswiped and it left quite a mark. The guy who hit him said he was a plumber, and offered to repair the bumper with the tools he had in his truck.

He insisted on exchanging insurance information, with the cop writing up a report that he then forwarded to the insurance. They gave him a list of auto body shops that were able to repair that particular truck model. Which required parts being ordered.

The moral of the story is that there are people who specialize in certain fields. They have to take classes and sometimes license tests which cost money. And web designers and developers spend their time keeping up with what’s new in the field (hint: this changes at warp speed of 9).

Your time is probably better spent on handing this off to someone who does this for a living and is able to set the site up just the way you want it to be and make it friendly when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) so that you show up on the first page of the search results.

Here’s some free advice . . . always, always, ALWAYS keep your domain registration separate and in your name, and set up your profile to send you alert email when your registration needs to be renewed.

Yes, I know you have a very low budget. However, there are ways to deal with this. It may work out just as well for you if you look for someone who is studying to become a web designer (make sure you look at their profile to see that they’ve actually done some work). There are sites where you can put up a bid request; unfortunately, I don’t know of one right off the bat.

Pearl, I’m a huge fan of WordPress for setting up websites, particularly for those on a budget. Depending on where you live, WordPress also puts on workshops called WordCamp with tracks geared to beginners. A three day workshop costs around $80.

It also provides background information about me and my books in the form of reviews (usually excerpts), interviews, etc., links to videos or other online material, with pictures available for publication online or in print.

Last, it informs potential editing clients of the various options I offer and the pricing for each, depending on what kind of work they want to pursue with me, and what their budget is.

That’s pretty much it. My designer and webmaven is Maddy James at Xuni.com, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with her and her faithful sidekick, Jen. (Xuni does a number of writer websites, including Lee Child’s.) I feel pampered. And we’re all good friends to boot.

Next step (and unfortunately an expensive one), redesigning the site so it’s more suitable for viewing on phones and other handheld devices.

Honestly, I’ve always thought literary thefth is a urban lenged. I have indeed posted short excerpts of my stories on my blog and I did have friends warning me against it. But I think, one would only steal a work if they were sure it would sell, and there’s no garantee that my work will. And I don’t even think anyone could recostruct my entire story by the short excerpt I published.

But then, I mostly use my blog to build my platform. Sharing excerpts is part of a wider strategy of sharing info. I have friends who publish stories on their blogs with mix success. But I agree that blogging is mor efficient (at least most of the time) with Platform-building.

I posted the first chapter of each of my novels on my web site. I figure this is the same as Amazon’s preview function.

But I only see 1-2 people per day looking at those pages. (compared to the 15-20 people who look at each page for my hypnosis MPs. So I sometimes wonder if I should shift the novels to a separate web site. But then I fear no one would find them at all.

Angraecus: If your work is currently posted on a website that you intend to use as your long-term author website, then I wouldn’t create a separate one for your chapters.

However, if the chapters are posted on a website that’s not destined to be your key marketing website for your career as a novelist, then you’ll need to start thinking about creating a separate website—although not because you’ll suddenly get more visits or readers. Even though it introduces complexity, it’s best to have separate sites when you’re targeting or serving two very different audiences, or when there could be confusion about who you are or what you do.

I’m planning to publish independently and view publishing my first novella (serialized ) on my website as a marketing tool and not as a way to generate income/immediate sales. I think the key is to have a well thought out plan for your web content that includes your desired outcomes. One of mine is to beta-test my story, characters and the world I’m building. Another is to grow my email list. I think it’s a risk, but I realized that, for me, part of going the indie route is to create my own path. Time will tell where that path takes me.

“The No. 1 reason to build an author website is to create a marketing and publicity hub for everything you do. It tells the story of you and your work. It’s a 24/7 business card that never stops working on your behalf.” THIS!

Your entire post was awesome but the quoted words above remain my most important takeaway. Thanks!

Also, thanks for rocking the SFWC breakfast and your class (takeaway from class = definitely use video on landing pages that sell a course).

Hi Jane. Yes, I agree. I’ve been blogging for 8 years, for writing practice, and to have a restricted publishing platform (excerpts of my stories). In my experience, the main problem for beginner bloggers is that of building up traffic to their blogs and attracting followers. Now that I’m ready to publish longer works, I’m more interested in using my blog as a platform for publicising and marketing my books. Thanks for the information. It all helps.

The main benefit so far (I’m still new to it) has been additional newsletter subscribers and people finding me on Goodreads. It also works the opposite way, where my newsletter and Goodreads drove people to my website, who then enjoyed reading and kept coming back. So it’s like a two-way street in that regard.

Loved this post, Jane! I agree with your overall theme in this post: Websites are meant to be marketing and promotional tools, a “live” business card of sorts. That’s what I’ve heard elsewhere, and how I’ve been treating my own site.

I’ve had a blog / website for about 7 years, but it didn’t gain any real traction until 2 or 3 years ago, when I started using social media to promote my posts and began regularly visiting and commenting on other people’s blogs. I’ve used it mostly as an extension of myself, talking about some of my favorite things (writing, reading, tea, music, occasional personal bits) as well as my WIP now and then. It’s been fascinating to see it grow and evolve, and it’s rewarding to see the same visitors (who really are more like friends now) come back again and again.

I don’t really share my work on my site / blog; that was never the purpose of having one. But I’ve recently shared some short excerpts of my WIP, from both Drafts #1 and Draft #2 to show what kind of changes I’ve made so far and ask for constructive feedback. That was more helpful than I thought it would be. :D I think it’s because a lot of my readers / followers are also writers and avid readers, and they’re used to looking at stories with a critical eye. So, in some ways, the site has also become a confidence booster, idea generator, and “think tank,” where visitors have had an active role in helping me make my corner of the internet (and my work as a writer) what it is today.

People can get a peek at an upcoming work. Having dense, original content on the blog helps in search rankings, when quite a few people are merely re-posting click-bait, with maybe a line or two and a link.

My blog is not passive. I can re-post a story again and again. Since I own the rights to the content, I can publish it anywhere. Sometimes Amazon will query that, but you just have to tell them you own the material.

I don’t want to blog about agents. That’s because I’ve never had one. I will not blog about an industry when I’ve never really been a part of that side of it.

When people read a novel excerpt or a serial or a short story, they’re on the site or blog for an extended time. This also shows up in the rankings, and every so often I earn a penny.

Yes, I’ve built up a readership through blogging as well. It’s my No. 1 marketing tool, and most of my traffic comes from organic search. I’ve also taken content from my blog and published it in book form on Amazon, and I earn money from it.

Blogging is an excellent marketing tool if pursued consistently and strategically over a long period of time.

Great thoughts! I’ve blogged for about five years. Though I have a full-functioning website now to better suit my needs, I began with a fairly simple WP format years ago.

Because FB, Twitter, and various other mediums continue to limit/restrict our reach (unless we buy their ads), I love the fact that my website is MINE. I’m in the driver’s seat and I have control.

Because I blog regularly on W/F my content is ever-changing. I like the fact we can enhance our “brand” through our own creativity and imagination. An active blog through a well-maintained website is our calling card to the world. It offers a snapshot of who we are and what we’re about long before our books are published. (And no–I don’t publish any of my potential book content online.)

Is a blog work? You betcha! But at the end of the day, so worth the effort. Blogging hones our writing skills, sharpens our focus, and introduces us to lifetime friendships and connections.

And gotta say–there’s nothing more disappointing than discovering someone I’d love to connect with only to find no website or blog of any kind and a nearly invisible social media presence.

I remember in my MFA program that hardly anyone had a website. Everyone thinks that you have to make it or get your first book deal before getting a website. But with how cheap websites are nowadays and how easy they are to make every writer should at the very least have a portfolio style website.

Too many authors I know post chapters endlessly. It’s a wasted space in my opinion, and people just don’t have time to read through endless amounts of online material.There’s a certain strategy to blogging and especially one that involves blogging your book. This is why I teach this course to authors who want to strategically position themselves in the blogosphere according to their niche.

I teach this course through Wow! Women on Writing and there is so much about blogging that I can just go on and on, but we have to keep in mind that readers’ attention spans are small like fleas – I call it the ADHD syndrome.

We have just a few milliseconds to capture a reader’s attention and if we don’t, they’ll just buzz off.

It’s interesting that you keep implying that too few people will visit your website for it to be worth posting stories there, which would imply that too few people will visit to make a website in itself worth having.

I’m a very minor author, I’ve been blogging for years and plenty of people visit my site. I do publish my poetry on my blog sometimes, but only after it’s been published elsewhere.

My key point is that an author website—even if it incorporates a blog, or is solely a blog—is marketing centric.

You can have tons of traffic or very little traffic, but when you’re giving away your work for free on your own site, you’re engaging in a practice that I label as marketing.

So the next question to ask is: What does that marketing do for you? Does it get someone to buy your book or pay for your work in some other way? Sign up for your email newsletter list? Recommend you to a friend? Follow you on social media? Put you on top of search results for a particular keyword?

What I observe are many authors posting their content at their website with no further consideration of the larger strategy—either how that content will be found, or what people are supposed to do after they find it.

I have found that putting my stuff online was more useful that anything. I am not the best person at grammar and vocabulary but I have found a lot of enjoyment through writing. Putting my story up and getting feedback and people helping me with it has been the biggest benefit. I have also found several people who actually enjoy and follow my work when chapters are ready to be put up. So thank you for putting this up here, it really helpful to know it’s not all going to waste :)

Thanks, Jane. I shared this with my FB group. I primarily use my site for marketing. Even articles I write to help other writers are in a sense marketing. I don’t post them for that reason, but that’s what they are. Great tips here. And you’re right. Most pre-published writers are living in obscurity. I still ask them to think twice before they publish a story on their site. There are so many other things you can do there.

Thank you for this informative article! I considered serializing a novel on my blog a couple of years ago, but decided against it because I sold another novel to a publisher and didn’t want unedited work to interfere with my brand. I don’t even consider my blog a writing blog but rather focused on travel, living abroad, and multicultural/international topics in general. Because my fiction is related to diversity and I translate children’s books from Portuguese to English, my blog has been an effective tool for marketing. My traffic to the blog is many times my traffic to the book pages, but I’m sure the book traffic wouldn’t exist without the larger blog readership. And instead of thinking about serializing an unpublished novel on the blog, I’m now thinking about self-publishing a collection of my most popular blog pieces. Still, maintaining a blog in the long term is a lot of work (as well as some money–I hire an administrator for the technical and security elements) and you have to love doing it or you won’t be able to keep at it in the long term.

Now, see, this is kind of timely because I’ve been going back and forth with what I want to do. I currently have just a blog where I host features like Wet Panty Society (monthly eye candy that involves weekly pics and trivia), Writing Tip Tuesday (sometimes) and where I participate in some weekly memes. For a while, I was reviewing adult romance books (because I’m addicted). But I’m an aspiring adult romance writer and have since decided to publish serial fiction on my website. My dilemma was do I create two different websites–author, writing–or just revamp my current into both? I thought it would just be easier to do the second one. The writing will be more of a hobby for me, with no intentions of ebook, print or going the traditional route.

Thanks for the insightful article, Jane. I have had a blog/website since I published my first book in 2012. My feature “Writers on Wednesday” helps other emerging writers promote their work. I format this as an interview asking questions that allow the author to discuss the craft of writing. One of the reasons for hosting other writers was to increase my blog traffic by having their readers/fans visit my blog to read the other writer’s post. This has worked well, but I am feeling the need to change my vision for my site. More and more authors are simply sending me media packages and one-sentence responses to my questions. I don’t want to simply be a promo site – my brand is “Sharing the Joy of Writing.” While I want to continue drawing new readers in, I also want a blog of some substance. I’m trying to decide the best path.

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